Available as a Google eBookfor other eReaders and tablet devices.Click icon below...

Summary

Enchanting and enigmatic, chanoyu (Japanese tea ritual) has puzzled western observers since the sixteenth century. Here is a book written by a tea practitioner that explains why over twenty million modern Japanese -- and a small but dedicated group of non-Japanese -- follow "The Way of Tea." Meticulously researched, An Introduction to Japanese Tea Ritual is clearly written and illustrated, and includes an extensive glossary.

"It provides a helpful overview of chanoyu practice for western readers by putting emphasis on the traditional meanings of tea with sensitivity to religious and cultural aspects. This book will help to demystify chanoyu and correct many one-sided impressions. It shows that chanoyu can be studied anthropologically and places the traditional practice of chanoyu clearly within the iemoto system in Japan. And it gives to the general reading public an accurate description of what actually goes on in a formal tea gathering, together with some indication of the rich associations in Japanese traditional culture that are called up by the various symbols and activities." -- Theodore M. Ludwig, Valparaiso University

"It's the first systematic anthropological work done on chado in the English language. It shows solid grounding in some of the most formative, as well as the latest, methodological works. Her grasp, particularly linguistically, of Japanese sources is commendable." -- T. James Kodera, Wellesley College

Jennifer L. Anderson earned a Ph.D. from Stanford University in Anthropology, and holds a Hikitsugi certificate from the Urasenke tea school.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments

Preface

1. The Nature of Tea Ritual

Introduction
Putting This Research in Context
Some Fundamental Ideas About Tea Ritual
About This Book

Early Japanese Contact with Tea
Eisai, Rinzai Zen, and Tea
Tea Competitions
Further Zen Influences on Tea
Noami's Attempt to Reconcile Zen Tea with the Tea of the Elites
Murata Shuko Introduces the Wabi-Style
A Brief Review of Japanese Tea Ritual Through the Ashikaga Era

4. The Samurai and the Merchant Tea Masters

Joo Establishes the Sakai School
The Era of Sen Rikyu

5. Sen Rikyu's Achievements in Tea

Sources of Information
Rikyu's Contribution to Tea Philosophy
Rikyu As a Teacher
Rikyu in Retrospect

6. Sen Rikyu's Legacy

Tea As An Adaptive Mechanism
Hideyoshi's Final Years
Establishing the Sen Family Schools of Tea
Tea During the Early Tokugawa Period
Tea in the Late Edo Period
Conclusion

Part II: Organization in the Tea World

7. Tea School Structure

Historical Influences on Sen Family StructureIe, Dozoku, and Iemoto Defined
Urasenke as Ie
Urasenke in the Context of the Dozoku
The Iemoto
The Utility of Family-Dominated Tea Schools

8. Learning the Grammar of Tea Ritual

Introduction
The Master-Disciple RelationshipTemae: Specific Tea Procedures
The Main Classes of Tea Gatherings
Seven Principle Types of Chaji
The Yearly Cycle of Tea

Part III: A Model Shogo Chaji

9. Behind the Scenes

Examining a Model Chaji from the Structuralist Perspective
Preliminary Preparations for Chaji

10. The Event Begins

The Guests Arrive
Symbolism in Traditional Clothing and Accessories for TeaMachiai, Koshikake Machiai, and Outer Roji

11. Physical Aspects of the Ritual Environment

The Inner Roji
Teahouse Architecture
Viewing the Tokonoma and Utensil Area
The Tearoom as Cognitive Model

12. Shoiri-The First Half og the Chaji

Exchanging Greetings
The Kaiseki MealShozumi--The First Charcoal PreparationOmogashi--The Main Sweets

13. The Break and the Return to the Tearoom

Reflecting on Shoiri, The First Half of the Tea RitualNakadachi--The Middle Break
Tea Flowers and Their Containers
Viewing Utensils Used for Koicha

14. Thick Tea Preparation

Koicha Begins
Preparing and Drinking Thick Tea
The Guests Ask To See the Utensils